LEE, Chris; LORUSSO, Silvio
Designing History: Documents and the Design Imperative to Immutability

Moving beyond the usual genres of form in graphic design’s canonical history, Designing History proposes a model centred on bureaucratic instruments of identity, ownership, value, and permission: money, passports, certificates, property deeds, etc. It considers the implications of a design history of the document, where the designer shifts from being a practitioner of conventional design histories to become subject and agency of bureaucratic authority.

The book is a revised edition of Immutable: Designing History (2022) and includes an extended essay that contextualizes the project as a remapping of graphic design’s historical, pedagogical, and practical assumptions. [publisher's note]

Published by Set Margins, 2025
Design by Chris Lee
Essays / Book Culture / Graphic Design / Politics